What Uber Freight’s move to Chicago actually means

© Dennizn

Interesting analysis from FreightWaves on the recent decision of Uber Freight to relocate its headquarters from San Francisco to Chicago – which for those outside the US trucking sector, is commonly understood to be the centre of the country’s vast freight brokerage business. According to local reports, Uber Freight has signed a 10-year lease for 450,000sq ft of office space and is set to hire 2,000 local employees over the next three years.

FreightWaves argues this represents not only a transformation in Uber Freight’s focus from developing technology to developing its logistics capabilities, but effectively represents a paradigm shift in the position of technology companies in the freight industry.

“In our view, by moving from San Francisco to Chicago, Uber Freight is embracing its destiny as a serious, technically sophisticated logistics company. The move accords with our thesis that digital freight brokerages will grow to resemble traditional brokerages more closely by finding ways to use people to create value for their customers.”